According to an article in the National Post [ https://nationalpost.com/news/world/the ... t-prepared ], 2018 is shaping up globally to be the fourth hottest year on record. The only years hotter were the three previous ones. Temperatures are rising and there is no clear idea of when they are going to stop.

The article states, “The disruptions to everyday life have been far-reaching and devastating. In California, firefighters are racing to control what has become the largest fire in state history. Harvests of staple grains like wheat and corn are expected to dip this year, in some cases sharply, in countries as different as Sweden and El Salvador. In Europe, nuclear power plants have had to shut down because the river water that cools the reactors was too warm. Heat waves on four continents have brought electricity grids crashing.”

Heat-related deaths are also on the rise. “It’s not a wakeup call anymore,” said Cynthia Rosenzweig, who runs the climate impacts group at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said of global warming and its human toll. “It’s now absolutely happening to millions of people around the world.”

Scientists point out that with significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and changes to the way we live, warming can be slowed enough to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

That’s why the Council of Canadians is joining climate fights from coast-to-coast-to-coast stopping new fossil fuel projects like the Kinder Morgan and Line 3 pipelines, the proposed Teck mine in Alberta’s tar sands and BP drilling offshore Nova Scotia. Existing global fossil fuel production is enough to push warming past a safe point, let alone Big Oil’s plans for expansion. The industry is big enough. Instead, we are calling on the provincial and federal government to commit to the changes that are needed for a just transition off of fossil fuels that supports impacted workers and communities. There are a multitude of climate solutions that exist, including energy conservation and efficiency measures, public transportation, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and more.